1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to preventative guard attachments for scissors, and more particularly to a guard for scissors that protects the seam of a rag quilt while clipping the seam.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rag quilts have become increasingly popular with people who enjoy sewing. The final step in making a rag quilt is to clip the seam allowance of the rag quilt to make the seam ragged. This last step is often time consuming because the quilt designer must make any necessary repairs to the rag quilt if the seam is cut. It is difficult to make the rag cuts on the rag quilt without cutting too far and damaging the seams of the rag quilt. Conventional scissors do not provide any means for preventing the scissors from cutting into the fabric.
Conventional scissors also often damage the table or workstation that a person is cutting material on. While someone is cutting a piece of material, the bottom blade of the scissors may come into contact with the scissors and scratch or otherwise damage the top of the table or workstation.
The following patent documents disclose examples of existing scissor guards that are designed to limit the cutting of conventional scissors.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,279,389 to Malsin discloses safety scissors for preventing damage to delicate fabrics while trimming their edges. The safety guard extends below the blades and shields the fabric around the edge. Only the edge of the fabric that is being trimmed is in contact with the scissor blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,016 to Kobelt discloses safety scissors with a guard member secured to the pivot point of the scissors. The guard member has a slot that only allows material that is as thin as a sheet of paper to enter through the guard and into contact with the scissor blades. A stop is provided for preventing the pair of scissor blades from opening too wide and leaving one of the scissor blades exposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,521 to Lynders discloses safety scissors. The scissors include a U-shaped shield that prevents direct contact by the user with the cutting edge of the scissor blades. A flat shield is attached to the outer surface of one blade and extends beyond the cutting edge and tip of the cutting blade. An elongated U-shaped shield is attached to the outer surface of the other blade.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,772 to Cornell et al. discloses edging scissors equipped with guide members. The guide members control the angular presentation of paper to the blades of the scissors to limit the amount of paper presented to the blades. The guides include a bottom plate and a cover plate having a strip extending between a pair of posts attached to the bottom plate. The strip forms a slot between the two plates.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,987 to Joung discloses scissors with a pair of safety plates for separating fabric from the pair of scissor blades. The safety plates are secured to the sides of the bottom cutting blade. The safety plates separate the cutting blades from the fabric a certain distance while cutting waste portions from the fabric. The safety plates prevent the cutting blades from contacting the fabric.
United Kingdom Provisional Specification No. 529,266 to Sellers et al. discloses improved scissors for cutting delicate fabrics. An adjustable sheath or guide plate is attached to the scissors to protect the fabric. The sheath is fixed to the underside of the lower blade of the scissors and rests on the fabric as the splicing threads are severed. The sheath has a funnel shaped end that fits over the scissor blade and a thin flat plate that extends along the bottom of the blade. A screw is provided to fix the sheath in its desired position.
Japanese Patent No. 10-117592 to Kawano discloses a stopper mechanism for limiting the opening of scissor blades. The stopper mechanism can be adjusted to allow for at least two opening distances.
None of the above inventions and patents, or other existing scissors, provide a protective guard that prevents scissor blades from damaging rag quilt seams while clipping the seam allowance. Also, none of the above inventions and patents provide a protective guard that prevents scissor blades from damaging a cutting surface located underneath material that is being cut with the scissors. Therefore what is needed is a protective guard that may be attached to conventional scissors to prevent damage to the seam of a rag quilt while clipping the seam allowance. What is further needed is a protective guard attachment that may be attached to conventional scissors to minimize the amount of repair that must be done after the seam allowance is clipped so it looks ragged. What is still further needed is a protective guard that may be made in varying sizes to easily attach to any conventional pair of scissors to protect the cutting surface from damage.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a scissor attachment solving the aforementioned problems is desired.